The Mayan Calendar

Mayan Calendar

While considered primitive people by some, the ancient Mayans were surprisingly adept at astronomy and mathematics and developed one of the most accurate calendars ever devised by man.

The most well-known Mayan calendars are their cyclical calendars: the Haab, Tzolk’in and Calendar Round. For the purposes of dating events long before their time or long after, they also had the Long Count calendar.

The Mayan Long Count Calendar and The End of the World that Didn’t Happen

You may recall that some years back there were people claiming December 21, 2012 would be the day the world would end. This was due to the belief the 13 baktun cycle of the Maya Long Count calendar, which lasts 5,125.366 tropical years, was determined to end on the winter solstice of 2012—December 21. Despite assurances from a Mayan expert (who had actually been trained in Mayan timekeeping by Mayan elders), that the date simply marked the start of a new calendar, there was a lot of doomsday talk.

The Mayan Cyclical Calendars

Haab Calendar

The Haab (“year” in Yucatec Mayan) cycle consists of 365 days, which comes remarkably close to the solar year of 365.25 days. This calendar is made up of 18 months with 20 days each and one month which has 5 days (called “Wayeb.”) To this day, Mayan people in South America make offerings and take part in ceremonies during Wayeb, as well as in other months in the Haab cycle.

In the Haab calendar, a month of 20 days is called a uinal, and each of the 18 uinals have their own name. The 18 months of 20 days totals 360 days, and when the Wayeb month of 5 days is added the result is a year totaling 365 days.

Haab Calendar Months

Pop

Wo’

Sip

Sotz’

Sek

Xul

Yaxk’in

Mol

Ch’en

Yax

Sak’

Keh

Mak

K’ank’in

Muwan

Pax

K’ayab

Kumk’u

Wayeb

Tzolk’in Calendar

The Tzolk’in calendar is regarded as a sacred calendar. It has 260 days which are not divided into months. Instead, it follows a sequence of 20 day glyphs which work in conjunction with the number 1 through 13 to come up with 260 days. This calendar synchronizes with nine cycles of the Moon, which is the typical duration of a pregnancy. Connections have also been made between the Tzolk’in calendar and the growing cycle of corn and movements of the zenith Sun.

The Calendar Round

The Calendar Round is a calendar which merges elements of the Tzolk’in and Haab calendars. In the Mayan calendar system, the name of a date includes both a Tzolk’in date and a Haab date. With the Calendar Round, any combination of a day in the Tzolk’in calendar and one in the Haab calendar will not be repeated until 52 periods of 365 days have elapsed. The Mayan attached special significance to this figure of 52 years, believing one attains the wisdom of an elder upon reaching 52 years of age.

The Mayan Long Count Calendar

As the name suggests, the Long Count calendar was used for events, either actual or mythological, which occurred over a long period of time. For the Mayans, anything that ran longer than 52 years required use of the Long Count calendar. This system counts 5 cycles of time—days, months, years, centuries and millennia. Additionally, the Long Count calendar includes Haab and Tzolk’in dates

How the Mayan Long Count Calendar Counts Time Cycles

1 day

1 k’in

20 days

20 kin, or 1 uinal

360 days

18 uinal or 1 tun

7,200 days

20 tun or 1 katun

144,000 days

20 katun or 1 baktun

The Biblical Calendar vs. The Mayan Calendar

The greatest similarity between the Biblical calendar and the Mayan calendar’s Haab (“year” in Yucatec Mayan) is that both use are luni-solar calendars. And, of course, the calculations which both calendars are based on are complex and deeply rooted in each culture’s religious and agricultural traditions, as well as their knowledge of the solar and lunar cycles.

Don Roth, an engineer by profession, has conducted extensive research into the Biblical calendar and its relationship to the Hebrew Calculated calendar. In his free 3-DVD collection, Don explains his mathematical proof for why the Hebrew Calculated calendar is true to the Biblical calendar and can be considered the true calendar of God.

Order your free DVDs revealing Don’s proof today, or ask a question regarding the Biblical calendar and the Mayan calendar.